Depression and Its Many Faces

12 June 2017

Do you or someone you know deal with depression? Its more common than you’d think and a lot of people are really good at hiding it. So even if you don’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. Depression isn’t something that people want to talk about. If someone does trust you enough to open up about their depression, listen.

There are people who have depressing times in their life, whether it’s a break up, a lost loved one, or things just aren’t going right in their lives. Then there are those who deal with depression daily. No matter what’s going on in their lives, some get treatment for it and others can’t afford it. There’s also those that don’t accept they have an illness so nothing gets done about it.

Have You Ever Researched the Statistics?

The statistics are astonishing and heartbreaking; knowing that so many people deal with depression and so many cases lead to a tragic ending. In the last year, at least one person has dealt with major depressive episodes. 16.1 million adults, in the United States alone, have depression. That’s nearly 7% of the population.

Do You Know How Many Kinds of Depression There Are?

Have you noticed how many different types of depression there are? Do you know what kind you have? For those who don’t know, here’s a list.

Major Depression – There is at least two weeks of having a feeling of sadness, and a loss of interest in activities.

Persistent Depressive Disorder – This used to be called dysthymia and is not as severe as major depression.

Bipolar/Manic Depressive – They have extreme mood swings and emotional highs and lows.

Seasonal Affective Disorder – They have normal mental health all year, then get depressed around the same time of year. It’s usually in the winter.

Highly Functional Depressive – They accomplish what needs done daily but has lack of energy. They also have a difficult time being joyful and has constant self-doubt.

Psychotic Depressive – These require monitoring by a therapist or doctor. They see and hear hallucinations. They have a loss of reality and believe delusions.

All these types of depression have their own symptoms but most share the same. They include the following:

Lack of/increased appetite

Sleeping more/less

Loss of interest

Self-doubt

Low self esteem

Isolated tendencies

Self-inflicted pain

Depression doesn’t have one single cause.

You might think people get upset over small things, but depression doesn’t exactly work like that. Depression is a mountain of things built up in a person’s mind that they can’t seem to get away from. Some choose medicine and therapy, some might choose a whole different route of trying to drink it away, and some try to ignore the fact that they have a disorder at all.

Like I said, there is no one reason someone develops this illness. There are multiple reasons. They could have low self-esteem. It could be due to past physical or sexual abuse. Alcohol and drug abuse plays a part too. Certain prescription medicines that were supposed to help, can end up triggering depression. Check your family history because, it too can be a cause. Anxiety can lead to depressive episodes. Chronic diseases may also be a factor.

Depression is no walk in the park, by any means. If you or someone you know deals with the struggle of this horrible disease, please get help: talk to a doctor, a therapist or even a friend. Please get the illness manageable before it takes over your life and the lives of your loved ones.